Forty-ninth session
Agenda item 88 (c)
RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The General Assembly,
Reaffirming its resolutions 45/200 of 21 December 1990,
47/185 of 22 December 1992 and 48/214 of 23 December 1993, and
stressing the urgent need of their full implementation,
Welcoming the importance attached in Agenda 21, Report
of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development,
Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992, (A/CONF.151/26/Rev.1 (Vol. I and
Vol. I/Corr.1, Vol. II, Vol. III and Vol. III/Corr.1)) (United
Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and corrigenda), vol.
I, Resolutions Adopted by the Conference, resolution 1, annex
II. adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development, to issues related to commodities in the context of
sustainable development,
Recalling the commitments on market access made in the
Final Act of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations
See Legal Instruments Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round
of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, done at Marrakesh on 15 April
1994 (GATT secretariat publication, Sales No. GATT/1994-7), vol.
1. and the importance attached therein to increased export opportunities
for developing countries,
Recognizing that in many developing countries, in particular
African countries and least developed countries, the commodity
sector remains the principal source of export revenues, employment,
income and savings, an important field for investment and a significant
contributor to the reactivation of growth and development,
Noting the recent increase of some commodity prices, recognizing
that this may not constitute a long-term trend and recognizing
also the need for a better functioning of commodity markets and
the necessity of stable and more predictable commodity prices,
including avoiding excessive price fluctuations and searching
for long-term solutions to commodity problems,
Concerned about the difficulties experienced by the developing
countries in financing and implementing viable diversification
programmes,
Mindful of the need for developing countries, especially
African countries and least developed countries, to diversify
their economies and in particular the commodity sector, with a
view to modernizing their production, distribution and marketing
systems, enhancing productivity and stabilizing and increasing
their export earnings in the context of the general decline of
primary commodity prices,
1. Takes note with interest of the report of the Secretary-General
of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on the
commodity situation, developmental linkages between the commodity
sector and other sectors and actions required to develop such
linkages in the context of diversification; A/49/226.
2. Emphasizes the need for developing countries that are
heavily dependent on primary commodities to continue to promote
a domestic policy and an institutional environment that encourage
diversification and enhance competitiveness;
3. Expresses the urgent need for supportive international
policies to improve the functioning of commodity markets through
efficient and transparent price formation mechanisms, including
commodity exchanges, and through the use of commodity price risk
management instruments;
4. Notes the need expressed by developing countries, in
particular the commodity-dependent developing countries, for stable
and more predictable commodity prices;
5. Stresses the importance of commodity diversification
as a means to increase export revenues of developing countries
and to improve their competitiveness in the face of the persistent
instability in the prices of some primary commodities and the
general deterioration in the terms of trade;
6. Urges developed countries to continue to support the
commodity diversification efforts of developing countries, especially
African countries, inter alia, by providing technical and financial
assistance for the preparatory phase of their commodity diversification
programmes;
7. Reiterates the importance of maximizing the contribution
of the commodity sector to economic growth and sustainable development
in commodity- dependent developing countries, and in this respect
stresses, inter alia, that:
(a) An appropriate domestic environment and favourable international environment are critical for successful diversification and the creation of developmental linkages between the commodity sector and other sectors of the economy, as well as for the availability of market outlets;
(b) Trade-distorting policies and practices, including tariff and non-tariff barriers, tariff escalation and obstacles to competition, have a negative effect on the ability of developing countries to diversify their exports and to undertake the requisite restructuring of their commodity sector;
(c) Expansion of South-South trade in commodities offers opportunities for intersectoral linkages within and among exporting countries;
(d) There is a need to promote research and development, to provide infrastructure and support services and to encourage investment, including joint ventures in developing countries engaged in the commodity and commodity- processing sectors;
8. Emphasizes the importance for developing countries
to process a significant part of their commodities, and in this
regard stresses the need for new market opportunities for their
processed and semi-processed commodities;
9. Expresses the need for the full implementation of the
Uruguay Round agreement, taking into account the special and differential
treatment agreed for developing countries, including the provisions
envisaged for African countries and the least developed countries;
10. Welcomes the work being done by the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development on the impact of the results
of the Uruguay Round on individual commodities of particular interest
to developing countries and invites the Secretary-General of the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to intensify
this exercise in close collaboration with the executive secretaries
of the regional commissions and other concerned organizations;
11. Notes with appreciation the work under way by the Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in assessing
the impact of the Uruguay Round on agricultural commodity markets,
and encourages the Organization to pursue its work and to inform
the General Assembly of its findings;
12. Urges producers and consumers of individual commodities
to intensify their efforts aimed at reinforcing mutual cooperation
and assistance;
13. Welcomes the assignment to the United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development of the United Nations global mandate
for mineral resources, and urges that efforts be made to mobilize
financial resources to allow the Conference, in close collaboration
with the regional commissions, to expand its technical assistance
to developing countries in that area;
14. Also welcomes the decision of the Standing Committee
on Commodities of the Trade and Development Board, urging the
secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
to continue its work on commodity risk management, particularly
in relation to developing countries;
15. Stresses the importance of improving the competitiveness
of natural products with environmental advantages and the impact
that this could have on promoting sustainable consumption and
production patterns, and calls for financial and technical assistance
to the developing countries for research and development of such
products;
16. Notes the increased number of requests for assistance
that the Second Account of the Common Fund for Commodities is
receiving, expresses the need for efficient allocation of the
existing resources, and also notes the expectations expressed
by member countries of the Fund that further voluntary contributions
will be forthcoming;
17. Decides to include the question of commodities in the
provisional agenda of its fifty-first session.
92nd plenary meeting
19 December 1994